Raining Daggers
by AsphodelRegrets
Summary: It's raining daggers in Aaa, and Fionna has an unexpected visitor. Is Marshall Lee being real this time, or is it still platonic for Fiolee? Well, what do you *expect* ? And what happens when Fionna sort-of falls for a certain hot-tempered prince? Warning: lousy fire puns alert.
1. Dagger Rain

Fionna was totally bored.

Outside the windows, it was raining daggers. This wasn't the first that it had happened in Aaa, but it meant that she was completely trapped. Worse still, Cake was out with Lord Monochromicorn, and _now_ she wouldn't be back until it stopped raining daggers.

"Beemo," said Fionna, trying to keep a whine out of her voice, "when do you think the rain will stop?"

"I don't know," said Beemo calmly. She was sitting on the floor in the corner, inexplicably holding one of Fionna's spare socks. "Let's play video games!"

"Na, no thanks. Not really in the mood." Fionna slid lazily from the couch onto the floor.

"Oh, okay. I think I should go recharge my battery now."

"I didn't know you had a battery," commented Fionna.

"Well, not really. It's fun to pretend though."

Fionna laughed. "Okay, Bee."

Beemo went to another corner, where she retrieved a cardboard box and hid underneath it. Fionna shook her head, amused.

There was a mysterious thump from her bedroom. Fionna leapt dramatically to her feet, glad of a distraction. She pulled her sword from her discarded backpack and went intrepidly into the bedroom.

"Marshall Lee?! What the math!"

The vampire king was floating several feet off the ground, holding his ever-present guitar-axe-thing. He eyes the sword in her hand with amusment.

"Were you planning to attack me?"

"What are you doing here?" Fionna demmanded, pink-faced. At least she had the presence of mind to lower the offending sword.

He circled effortlessly in the air, striking a few chords on his guitar. "Well, it's raining daggers. I can't exactly leave."

"That doesn't explain why you were here in the first place," she snapped. It was so annoying when Marshall was evasive. He seemed to think that it somehow made him mysterious and attractive. Well, it did _not_. In Fionna's opinion.

He shrugged. "I've been here all night. I'm surprised you didn't notice me, to be honest."

"_What_ the _glob_, Marshall! That is so creepy!" Her face went from pink to scarlet.

"Hey, you can't expect me to _not_ be creepy," he explained. "I'm evil, remember?"

"Were you watching me sleep?" she asked, a definite note of accusation in her voice.

For the first time in four hundred twenty-three years, Marshall Lee looked uncomfortable. Still, there was no point in lying to a mortal. "Ye-es," he drawled, rotating so that he was completely upside-down. "So?"

"So, that's . . . freakin' creepy, Marshall."

"We established that already," he drawled, beginning to rotate like some sort of demon creature. _Which, _Fionna had to remind herself, _he was_.

"But why - ugh, can you please stop floating? It's so hard to concentrate."

He drifted to the ground. Fionna was surprised that he had obeyed her request so quickly, but then he moved towards her so that their faces were inches apart. Her blush heightened to 'glowing sunset' red.

"Is it easier for you to concentrate now?" he breathed, leaning his forehead against hers.

_Stupid, cute vampire demon._ "Umm . . . no," she said. She really wasn't sure where this was going. _No!_ It was just Marshall, her friend. Fionna laughed awkwardly, pushing his shoulders so that he was a safe distance away.

He looked seriously at her. "Fionna . . . Remember that night?"

"What night? Oh, you mean last month, when you got into a fight with Cake and me and then pretended to be dying?"

He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, that last part is irrelevant. Remember before then? When we were singing together at Lumpy Space Prince's party?"

Fionna laughed, and her face started returning to normal color. "That was fun."

"Yeah." He continued to look meaningfully at her.

She coughed. "And . . . ?"

"What? Oh, sorry. I just zoned out for a sec. Where were we?"

"LSP's party."

"Right. That night, your hair was really . . . um, yellow."

"Yes," agreed Fionna cautiously. "It's usually like that."

"But you had it down that night. It was pretty. Objectively, I mean. You know, I've been around for so long that I lost all sense of the beautiful some time ago."

"Okay . . . thanks, I guess." He was definitely behaving weirdly. "I bet you'd like me better as a redhead," she joked, trying to relieve the sudden awkardness.

"Ha ha," he said humorlessly. "Look, Fi . . ." Marshall smiled lopsidedly, showing one fang. "You've been hard to get off my mind lately." He played another chord, unconsciously lifting a few inches off the floor.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you always this suspicious? Just curious," he mused.

"Hey!" Fionna huffed. "I _should_ be suspicious. You're always flirting with me. It's cute and whatever, but you're being weird this time."

"I'm trying to be real," he teased, levitating again. "Like you."

"Very funny, Marshall."

"Yes, I am. You know what else is funny?" he asked, his eyes glittering wickedly. Fionna shifted her feet slightly.

"What?"

"Your hat." He floated closer. "But I prefer your hair loose."

Before she could react, Marshall had pulled her hat off in one motion and her hair was cascading like liquid gold. He looked at her for a moment, a strange expression on his face.

"Hey, Fionna!"

The voice came from the other room.

"Cake's back," observed Fionna superfluously. She stood transfixed by the red gleam in Marshall's eyes; she couldn't tell whether it was demonic or angelic anymore.

He kissed her on the mouth. Fionna's eyes flickered closed. The kiss was gentle, yet insistent. Ever so cautiously, she parted her lips. He tasted like pine needles . . . in a good way.

Marshall pulled away a few seconds later and flew backwards out the window, smirking.

Cake opened the door. "Hi, Fionna." Catching sight of her face, the cat stopped short. "Girl, you're red as a cherry!"

Fionna smiled sheepishly, then turned to look back at the now-open window.

"Oh, look. It's stopped raining. I didn't notice."


	2. The Hat

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur for Fionna. She and Cake fought a dragon, saved a tribe of Fluffy People, and ate pasta with Prince Bubblegum and Lord Monochromicorn at the Candy Castle. She went through the motions, but her thoughts were curiously and inexorably drawn back to a certain vampire. She didn't even notice that Cake kept shooting her strange looks.

When they got home and the sun was setting over Aaa, the cat finally asked her. "Fionna, where is your hat?"

"My what?" Feeling a bit stupid, Fionna groped around on top of her bare head for the nonexistent hat. "Oh, glob! It's gone, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah!" Cake exclaimed, looking at her sister even more strangely. "Your hair has been loose all day, girl! You seriously didn't notice?"

"I'm a bit . . . tired," she said evasively, gazing out the window. The crimson color of the setting sun reminded her of Marshall. Would it be hypothetically possible for him to drink the color out of the sun . . . ? Or not, because the sun wasn't actually red? But then, how did he drink the color out of anything? She would have to ask him some time.

"Your hair looks pretty, but I thought you didn't like wearing it down."

"I don't," she said promptly, snapping back to the present. "Actually, I was just about to put it back on." _Please to glob, _she hoped it was still in her room. Unfortunately, she had a sneaking suspicion that it was not. She went to the bedroom, surreptitiously crossing her fingers for good luck.

After eleven minutes of rooting around on the floor, Fionna was forced to conclude that her beloved bunny hat was not in her room.

"Ugh . . . Marshall!" she muttered darkly. "I swear . . ."

"Hey, Fi! What's taking so long?" Cake came into the room and looked at the now-messy room. Drawers were open, clothes strewn around on the floor. "You didn't _lose_ your hat, did you?"

"For now . . . yes. But I have a pretty good idea of where it might be. Just give me, like, twenty minutes." Seven there, seven back, and six to confront Marshall. Four, if he was feeling generous.

"Do you want me to come with?"

"Na, I'll be fine. You stay here." Fionna wasn't sure why she wanted to go alone, unless it was to keep from having to tell her about the kiss.

She slid her backpack on and left, slipping into the cool blue twilight.

Cake called after her. "Okay, then! I'll just clean this up!"

Fionna glanced over her shoulder at her sister, grinning. Then she started jogging to Marshall Lee's house. It wasn't that far away, but it still took her longer than seven minutes as she had wanted. It was dark, and he lived in a weird, swampy area. Momentarily she wondered if it was worth it just for the hat, but Fionna _really_ preferred wearing it.

Finally, she came to his house. It was perpetually in twilight, overhung with a thick green canopy, and darkness was arriving in earnest now. She could only make out the outline of the house and yellow light spilling out of one window. After tripping a few times on the porch, she found the door. Fionna hesitated. Marshall was really private, and she wasn't sure how he would react to an unexpected visit. On the other hand, he had kissed her without explanation and then rudely stolen her hat, so she was totally justified in getting it back. She knocked.

After a few unexpectedly suspenseful moments, the door swung open. The vampire king seemed unsurprised to see the human girl on his porch.

"Hey, Fi. Come in." He floated inside, motioning for her to follow. She did, closing the door behind herself.

Marshall picked up the hat from where it had been resting on the sofa and started toying with it, twisting the ears around one finger. "I guess you came for this, huh?"

"Um, yeah." She held out her hand expectantly. "Can you give it back, please?"

He drifted closer to the ceiling, rotated onto his back, and tilted his head upside down to look at her. "Hmm . . . I don't think so."

"What?"

"I like you better without it."

"Marshall!" She blushed. "What does that even mean? Wait, this is a prank."

He laughed mockingly. Fionna found herself getting a little angry. She was usually chill, but Marshall always knew exactly which buttons to push to her get her mad.

"You jerk! You seriously kissed me just so you could take my hat?"

"Wait, no!" Marshall flew back to ground level, righting himself. "That's not why." He squinted at her for a moment. "Actually, that's a really weird conclusion to jump to. Feeling insecure?"

"Quit messing with me! Just give the hat back."

"Okay, okay." He set his feet on the ground. Fionna reached for the hat again, but the vampire held it oh-so-slightly out of her reach. "For a price." He smiled, looking perfectly wicked. "Kiss me again."

Fionna stalwartly ignored the little flutter in her midsection. "Dude, that is seriously messed up. Give me the stupid hat already."

For the briefest of brief moments, he might have looked disappointed. Then he was poker-faced again. "Whatever." He floated a few feet away, then tossed her the hat.

"Um . . . thanks." Fionna tugged the hat on, feeling instantly more confident. "Bye, Marshall."

"Ta."

Was it wrong of her to feel a teeny bit unsatisfied as she slipped back out into the night?

Back at the treehouse, Cake was waiting impatiently. "Girl! What took you so long? I got worried. It's been almost forty minutes."

"Sorry, Cake. It was really dark, and I kept tripping over plants and stuff."

"That should teach you to go wandering around at night by yourself. Where did you go, anyway? I see you found your hat."

"I was at Marshall Lee's. He took it for a prank."

"That jerk! But he's so cute."

Fionna blushed. Again.

Cake misenterpreted her high color. "Don't look at me like that! Lord M is gorgeous, and I would never cheat on him. Never ever. Plus, demon-vampires aren't my type. I'm just saying, _empirically_, Marshall's cute."

"Yeah, I guess." Picturing his tousled black hair and faintly aquamarine skin, Fionna blushed an even deeper pink. "Objectively."

"Know who else was looking objectively cute today? Prince Bubblegum. He is _so_ into you, girl!"

"You think so? I hope not. He's a really good friend."

"Hmm. I guess, but you're going to fall for someone, someday."

"Hypothetically? Yeah."

"There are some hot princes in Aaa. Have I introduced you to Flame Prince?"

"Oh noo, awful pun alert!" laughed Fionna. "No, seriously, though. I'm just not ready for romance. When I'm ready, if I'm ready, then I'll hopefully meet a chill guy that I'm into."

"Honey, it doesn't really work like that. It's more like, you fall in love when you least expect it, and you're done for before before you even realize it."

"That only happens in romantic comedies, silly Cake."

"I'm serious!" insisted the cat. "The lurve bug can bite at any moment!"

Fionna laughed. "The lurve bug?"

"_Luuurve_!" trilled Cake, doing a little dance.

The girl shook her head, amused. "Silly, silly Cake."


	3. Flammable

**AN: Luuurve triangle alert! Enter Flame Prince. I needed a new element. Get it, element. Oh, and expect more bad fire puns.**

The next morning, Fionna and Cake had a visitor.

After yesterday's weird drama with Marshall, Fionna was kind of relieved to see the familiar pinkness of Prince Gumball.

"Hey, Preebles! What's up?"

"Good morning, Fionna. I'm afraid it's rather serious. Flame Prince has escaped from the Fire Kingdom."

In an instant, Cake was at Fionna's side. "Who is Flame Prince, and why was he locked up?" she demmanded.

"He is the son of Flame Queen, ruler of the Fire Kingdom. Flame Prince is known to be unstable and highly . . ." The prince made a vague hand gesture. "Well, flammable."

"So, he's a crazy psycho?" confirmed Cake. "You need us to track him down?"

"Well . . . not exactly."

"What do you mean?" asked Fionna.

"He's extremely volatile. Anything that sets him off - any strong emotion, or a shock of some kind - could turn him into a wildfire. Literally. He would burn anything in his path, causing mass destruction and chaos," Prince Gumball explained.

"Oh my glob, that's awful!" said Cake, her tail bristling at the thought of danger. "We have to get him back to the Fire Kingdom."

"Exactly," agreed Gumball. "I'm glad that you grasp the situation so well. It's important to keep him there."

"Wait a minute," said Fionna, her forehead creasing with a sudden suspicion. "You said 'would.' So, this Flame Prince hasn't actually done anything wrong?"

The prince hesitated. "Technically, no. But you have to understand how dangerous he is. My job is to keep him in the Fire Kingdom, where he can't do any damage, and the rest is up to Flame Queen."

"You're keeping an innocent dude locked up?!" Fionna felt her face heating up at the thought of injustice. "That's seriously scronked up, PG."

He looked annoyed. "Fionna, this is for the greater good of Aaa."

"What do you even need us for, if he's not a criminal to catch?"

"The prince is, like I mentioned, very volatile, and we haven't exactly - er - gotten along all that well in the past."

"So, you need us to be your bodyguards."

Bubblegum sighed. "Look, you're making this alot more complex than it needs to be. Just help me return him to the Fire Kingdom."

"Hmph. You haven't said the magic word yet."

"_Please?_" he relented, exastperated. Fionna couldn't help smiling a little.

"Alright, Gum. But I still don't like it."

"Where is he?" asked Cake.

"It's not certain, but I strongly suspect that he's in the grasslands somewhere."

"Let's get this over with then." Fionna usually wasn't this reluctant to go 'adventuring,' but the whole Flame Prince thing felt a bit wrong. Maybe he was as bad as PG said, or maybe PG was overreacting again. Or just _maybe_ she was still feeling a teensy bit ticked-off with Marshall.

Fionna got her backpack, and then the trio set off. The grasslands comprised a wide green expanse of - surprise! - grass between the treehouse and the Forest of Trees. The forest fomed a dark half-moon around the eastern border, at the southernmost tip of which was Marshall Lee's house. _Glob_, he was really proving difficult to get off her mind lately.

Gumball was right; they had only been searching for about five minutes when a telltale orange glow became visible on the horizon. It looked as if a candle had been lit in the Forest of Trees. A really, really large candle.

"Ach, mein Glüb!" excaimed Prince Gumball. "He's in the forest! Does he even realize how flammable trees are?!"

"Let's hope so," muttered Cake sarcastically.

She and Fionna broke into a run, leaving Gumball to jog indignantly behind them.

Within seconds, the sisters reached the edge of the forest. Between the trees, the orange light was visible. Fionna was slightly puzzled. Everything about the situation should have alarm bells going off in her head - trees _were_ known to be quite flammable, after all - but the flames didn't look dangerous. If anything, she was recalled of a campfire, warm and definitely the opposite of threatening. The flickering glow was quite _inviting_, actually.

"_Wait here,_" she whispered to Cake.

Cautiously, her hand reflexively inching towards the sword in her backpack, Fionna stepped around the few trees blocking her way and finally got a good look at Flame Prince.

He was standing in the little clearing, his back to her. He was surrounded by what looked like a small bonfire, the yellows, reds, and oranges blending almost seamlessly into the colors of his clothes and hair. His _hair_ was especially noticeable, vividly tangerine-colored and animated like it had a fire of its own. Which, Fionna reminded herself, it probably did.

"Hello?" she said, a little trepidly. "Flame Prince?"

He turned around, and Fionna couldn't help gasping a little. There was something intense about his face that she liked, though she wasn't able to say exactly what. Maybe it was the bold challenge in his dark eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked, his tone neutral as he looked over the adventuress.

"I'm -"

"Flame Prince!" Prince Gumball stepped into the clearing, Cake following closely behind. "You must return to the Fire Kingdom immediately, or risk incarceration."

Flame Prince's anger flared - literally. The fire around him flared briefly, sending a small shower of sparks onto the forest floor and bringing the scent of singed dry leaves. Even more telling was the flash of heated resentment in his eyes.

"For me, return to my kingdom and incarceration are the same thing!" he spat. "I haven't done anything _wrong_, Prince Gumball. You and my mother can't keep me locked away forever!"

All of Fionna's worst fears were being confirmed. Dismayed, she glanced back at the candy prince for reassurance.

"We can as long as you are a threat to Aaa!" insisted Gumball. "You do not know how to control your emotions."

"Yeah?" the other prince jeered. "And how am I supposed to learn if I spend my life in a lamp?"

"Hey, Gum," interjected Fionna uncomfortably, "maybe -"

"Who are _they_?"

Somehow, the question sounded a lot less neutral than it had the first time. Fionna felt her insides shrivel slightly.

"These are my knights," said Gumball calmly. Flame Prince laughed sardonically.

"Now you need your _knights_ to back you up for a so-called 'diplomatic discussion' with me? Feeling weak, Gumball?"

Cake and PG both opened their mouths to retort, but Fionna beat them to it. Insulting her prince was something she couldn't stand for, at least!

"Hey! Back off! Prince Gumball is just trying to do what's best for Aaa." Although she wasn't even entirely sure of that.

"I need freedom!" Another shower of sparks rained onto the leaves. One of them touched Fionna's face, leaving a tiny, smarting burn. "If you want a fight, you can have one," he addressed Prince Gumball. "Just know that it could have been avoided if you gave me liberty. And," his eyes glittered with sudden malice, "you're going to need more than a cat and a human girl to defeat me."

Before either of the girls could react, Gumball swiftly pulled a flacon fom his shirt and poured water onto the other prince. Flame Prince hissed angrily, a sound that quickly turned into a groan of pain as he melted to the ground. The fire around him was nothing but wet ash, and he paled to a bluish color. He had apparently passed out.

Gumball barely glanced at him. "Cake, carry him to the Fire Kingdom. Fionna, make sure he doesn't fall off."

Still slightly shocked, Fionna carried Flame Prince onto Cake's back. The cat stretched to full size, accomodating for all three passengers.

"Cake, do you know where the Fire Kingdom is?"

"Yeah, but I've never been there," said Cake.

"Take us there. Please."

**AN: Review, please! How much should FP figure into the story? Should Gumball be a lurve interest as well? I'm thinking not at this point, but maybe that's just personal preference.**


	4. A Confusing Song

**AN: The song is a selection from "Nothing to You" by Two Gallants, it's my new obsession.**

Fionna had never seen the Fire Kingdom, but it was exactly as desolate as she had imagined. Rough black igneous rocks, live lava running in pools, and vagrant fire wolves roaming around? No wonder Flame Prince had tried to escape.

Unable to keep him propped up, Fionna had settled for cradling the unconscious prince's head in her lap. She was feeling distinctly un-tender towards him, but a wounded person was a wounded person. As Cake stopped outside the kingdom, she noticed that some faint color and warmth was starting to return to his limp body.

"Gumball -"

"I'll take him from here. Thanks, you two." He smiled a little grimly at the sisters. "You just saved Aaa."

Cake shrank back to normal size while Gumball popped a blue pill into his mouth. Instantly, he turned blue himself.

"Fire shield," he explained. "I'ts only _really_ effective when bestowed by one of the fire people, but I found a way to chemically replicate similar effects."

"Uh, okay. Are you sure you don't need help carrying him?"

"No, he's lighter when not lit." Gumball's forehead creased slightly. "I meant, less heavy." He lifted the other prince, seemingly without effort, and started walking through the Fire Kingdom.

"Is it just me, or was that whole adventure just a little bit creepy?" muttered Cake as Fionna remounted her.

"Totes," agreed Fionna. "Did we just do the right thing? Because knocking out an innocent prince and dragging him back to prison didn't feel all that right. Or satisfying."

"Technically, it's not prison, and he _did_ threaten us. Look, try not to think so hard about it, okay? PG knows what he's doing. If he said that guy was evil, or 'volatile,' then he was."

"Hmm." Fionna decided to drop it, for now. It wasn't going to accomplish anything to squabble with Cake over a subject that she clearly didn't want to talk about. Still, her mind was far from settled.

When they got back to the treehouse, Marshall Lee was floating near the ceiling, playing some experimental chords on his bass.

"Marshall! Again?" said Fionna indignantly.

"Oh, hey Fionna. Hey Cake." He drifted down to eye level. "I got bored."

"You know, most people don't solve their boredom by breaking into other people's houses."

"I used to live here, remember?" More chords.

"So, vampires have a really off sense of possession? Because you don't anymore."

"Eesh, chill. If you're still mad about the hat, then _sorry_. And it's not so much a skewed sense of possession as it is of time."

Sensing tension, Cake pretended to look at her nonexistent watch. "Oh! Sorry dudes, but I told Lord M that we'd play viola together at his place." Then she made her quick escape.

Fionna glared at Marshall Lee for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I can't stay mad at you forever. Still, why -" She bit her tongue.

"What?"

"Never mind." As long as he didn't try anything like it again, she could let the kiss slide.

"I've been working on a new song. Wanna hear?" Befroe she could answer, he started singing.

_"__You got hair that recalls me of rivers_  
_That runs softly while you dream of you_  
_But your heart is so cold that it shivers_  
_'Cause all that I know is I'm nothing to you_

_" 'Cause I heard that you've got you a lover_  
_And lovers you've got one or two_  
_But you can't tell one from the other_  
_Now, mama, you're nothing to you."_

Marshall let the last few notes fade into the air, then grinned lopsidedly. "It's good, right? A bit short, but I can fix that."

Fionna suddenly found herself strangely breathless. "Yeah . . . really good. Um, it's just . . ."

"What is it?"

"Your songs are usually more straightforward. I can't really tell what it's about."

He looked blankly at her for a moment.

"You seriously don't know?"

"No," she affirmed, feeling slightly foolish now. "Was I supposed to?"

"Ah, forget it." He leaned back, his fingers still dancing over the strings. Fionna couldn't help feeling inadequate, like she had let him down.

"No, really, I'm curious now. "What's it about?"

"Look," he said, irritation creeping into his voice, "if you don't get it, then you're not going to." He rolled onto his stomach, looking down on the human. "So, the gumwad was here. What did he want? Were the Fluffy people in danger? I could put them in danger, if you want me to."

"No, it was - Wait, how did you know that the gumwad - Gumball - was here?"

"I can smell him," Marshall shrugged.

"Really?" Half-against her will, Fionna giggled. "Um, what does he smell like?"

The vampire king floated near the ground. "Pink. He smells very strongly of pink. He also smells like sugar, which might be something that you can sense as well."

"I guess, a little bit." The unasked question hovered near her slightly-open mouth. "Er . . ."

"You want to know what you smell like."

Fionna, blushing a little, nodded.

"Well, you always smell a little red, because that's what color your blood and most of your organs are. It's not noticeable, though, until you blush, at which point it becomes quite distracting."

This, of course, only made her blush more.

"Aside from that, you smell like - salt."

"Salt!" Fionna squawked. She wasn't vain, but _salt_!

Marshall Lee laughed. "Not strongly. All humans smell that way, I recall. Simone still does . . . faintly." He looked a little sad, but then seemed to push the emotion aside. "Also, you smell like honey."

Well, that was better than salt.

"Honey? Really?"

"Or something close to it. Especially when your hair is loose."

"Oh, that explains why you always want me to take my hat off," she mused.

Marshall smirked, showing the tip of one fang. "Partially."

Fionna, momentarily mesmerized by that fang, shook her head slightly to return to reality.

"Oh! By the way. Do you know anyting about Flame Prince?"

"Flame Prince? Aside from the fact that Gumwad is obsessed with keeping him locked up? No. Fire and vampires don't tend to mix well. He seems okay, though. Any enemy of Gumwad's is a friend of mine."

"Quit calling him that."

"_You_ came up with it."

"I can come up with a nickname for you, too!" she threatened jokingly. To her surprise, he raised one eyebrow in a challenge.

"Do it."

"Hmm. Give me time. These things have to come to me naturally."

"Take your time. So, presumably Gumwad wanted you to help him catch Flame Prince. Did you do it?"

Fionna groaned slightly in frustration. "Yess, but I'm still not sure if it was the right thing to do."

"Meaning, you subconsciously ackowledge that it was the _wrong_ thing to do."

"I don't know!"

"Yes, you do." He looked thoughtfully at her, then transformed into a giant demon-bat. "C'mon,we're paying a visit to the Fire Kingdom."

**AN: I am really turning out chapters today! Please, please make my day and review.**


	5. Ignite

**AN: Thanks to kojh0124, FioleeNinja13, and several anonymous reviewers for the lovely reviews! :) Getting reviews really helps motivate me, hint hint.**

"You're leaving me here? Alone?"

Marshall Lee and Fionna were standing outside the Fire Kingdom, and he apparently expected her to proceed into hell by herself.

Marshall shrugged. "I'm not getting any closer. Despite popular opinion, I don't actually have diplomatic immunity, and not everyone likes me as much as you do."

"So," confirmed Fionna, "you're sending me into the Fire Kingdom alone."

"Yeah. So? It's not all that dangerous. Just don't aggravate anyone. Or make unnecessary eye contact."

"Marshall Lee!" Fionna almost stamped her foot in frustration. "Why did you bring me here just to ditch me?"

"You had _the look_."

"What look?"

"You know. That look that you get when . . . you're really bothered by something, and I know that you're not going to relax until it's taken care of."

"I didn't know that I had a look," said Fionna, nonplussed. Marshall smirked.

"For some reason - I'm not really sure why - you're really, really bothered by what happened with Flame Prince. So now you're going to march confidently in there, demmand an audience with him, and try to ammend and/or justify what happened."

"Why do you care?"

"Who says I care? Oh, that reminds me. You're going to need a flame shield." He landed next to Fionna and took her wirst, holding it close to his face. "Let's see if I remember how to do this . . ." He started muttering words in a strange language, lightly tracing runelike patterns on her forearm. For a split second, a burning sensation ran over the surface of her skin. Fionna had turned blue.

"I picked that up from a guy I know in the Nightosphere," said Marshall. "Now you won't get burned. You won't even feel temperature, apparently."

Fionna touched her face, fascinated. "Algebraic! How long does it last?"

He shrugged. "Have fun with Flame Prince." Then he flew away.

Suddenly nervous, Fionna turned towards the Fire Palace. Marshall was right; she really _was_ bothered by the Flame Prince thing. Well, she was here anyway, so she might as well try to talk to him.

Oh, and since when had Marshall Lee been so intuitive? Maybe it was just a vampire thing. Or something.

She was distracted by a pack of Fire Wolves. The wolves were emitting little red sparks and looking rather threatening. Fionna knew that they probably couldn't hurt her with the Flame Shield, but she ducked behind a black rock formation just to be safe until they passed.

Fionna was momentarily speechless when she saw the interior of the Fire Palace. It was, like the rest of the kingdom, barren and blazing, but it was also kind of . . . austerely beautiful, in a way.

Everyone looked at Fionna when she walked in. Flame Queen was sitting imposingly on her throne, her dark, brassy armor shining dully in the firelight, apparently holding court. Various firey subjects were milling about on two sets of stairs on either side of the throne. Flame Prince was in a glass lamp suspended from the rocky ceiling. His eyes widened slightly in recognition or anger when he saw the human girl.

"Uh . . . hello," she said, trying not to fidget under the scrutiny of what seemed like the entire Fire Kingdom.

"What farce is this?" demmanded Flame Queen in a voice that resounded. "Speak, girl!"

Fionna took a deep breath. "I am Fionna the human."

"Ah, I see," said the queen. "Prince Gumball said that you helped him return my prodigal son. I thank you."

"Your majesty, I - er - accept your thanks, but I came here to speak to Flame Prince."

"Hmm . . . I suppose that could be arranged for a hero such as yourself, though I don't see why. However, I am feeling whimsical today, so your request shall be granted." She pulled a lever, which lowered the lamp. Flame Prince stepped out and walked towards Fionna, his expression again unreadable.

"If we could maybe talk outside?" said Fionna tentatively, uncomfortable with talking in front of the fire court.

"Just don't let him escape!" commanded Flame Queen, waving her hand in consent.

The two walked outside. Fionna crossed and uncrossed her arms, unsure exactly what to say.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

"What, you mean when you and that pink menace connived to knock me unconscious and drag me back to my prison cell? Yeah. Maybe you should be."

"You threatened us!" said Fionna defensively. "Prince Gumball said you're really unstable."

"I can be stable!" he said, sending off a shower of sparks in anger.

"You're not exactly a model of calmness right now," she replied coolly.

"Look, why did you come here? To taunt me?"

"I was just really uncool with what Gumball did, all right?" said Fionna, almost shouting. "I wanted to talk to you and find out if you're really innocent, so thanks for proving PB right about you!"

"Wait . . . you think I'm innocent?" he said in an entirely different tone. "You really didn't know what Prince Gumball was up to, did you?"

"No. He said you were dangerous, but I'm not sure."

Flame Prince grimaced. "So, disregarding whatever lies and half-truths Prince Gumball told you, what do you think of me? Apparently I was bad enough that you were mostly okay with attacking me. What's wrong with me?"

"I like you," she said automatically. Fionna was a little surprised at herself. It was true, though; she liked his hair and his eyes and even his temper.

To her further surprise, that temper flared. "What's wrong with you?! Don't ever mess with me again!" He laughed, sounding slightly maniacal. "Oh, but thanks for letting me out, Fionna the human!" Then he ran, streaking across the Fire Kingdom and out of sight like a flaming arrow.

It occurred to Fionna that she might chase him, but she really wasn't sure what to think. _Technically_ he hadn't done anything wrong _yet_, so it was okay for her _not_ to chase him right away.

And, if she was totally honest with herself, maybe she had a bit of a crush.

Oh, but Flame Queen would be totally pissed if she came out right now to find Fionna and no Flame Prince! Maybe she should start running after all.


End file.
